Your Pastoral Coach

Adoring God through Art

This weekend my family and I had a chance to visit a museum in New York City (the north end of Manhattan) called The Cloisters. Please take a look at the official website and this site full of gorgeous photos. I highly recommend it. The museum building looks like a medieval castle at the top of a lush hill overlooking the flowing Hudson river. It's focus is European medieval art, primarily from the 12th Century through the 15th Century. While in the museum you are totally transported to Europe at that time. Not only are paintings, tapestries, sculptures, and objects in exhibition, but also architecture and gardens. Things are shown in a setting reminiscent of their original home. Again, I loved it!

Although the focus of the museum is not religious art, it is evident that much of the art of that time was religious. The faith of the artists and clients of the objects is evident. They not only wanted to create a beautiful piece of art, they wanted to elevate their prayers through every stroke of a brush or carving with a knife. They sought to move the viewers in heart, but also in spirit. This let me think about my art. I don't really use art to express my spirituality. At times when I take photographs of nature I sensed a spiritual connection with the place and with the Creator. But I don't really paint, or sing, or sculpt, or write poems of praise and adoration. Do you? Let's see if the Spirit moves me...

Technorati Tags: Spirituality

Gospel Reflection for Sunday May 28, 2006

Scriptural reflection for the readings of Sunday, May 28, 2006, celebrating the solemnity of ascension of our Lord. Sometimes when I meditate on the mysteries of the rosary I put myself in the place of the people. I try to think and feel what they were thinking. For example, I put myself in the place of Mary when the Angel spoke with her. I feel the crown of thorns been placed on my head or I feel the weight of the cross on my shoulders as I carry it up. One of my favorites mysteries to meditate on is the ascension of the Lord. I imagine myself been lifted up in the air. As I go up the noise of cars and TVs begins to fade, the chatter of people begin to grow silent. Likewise, my worries of the bills on my desk, my anguish over toxic bosses, my pain in my shoulder begin to dissipate. The love I gave and received always stays. I begin to feel lighter in the deep silence of the heavens, feeling the wind on my face. The extreme joy of beginning to feel the radiance of God on my body fills me with excitement. The ecstasies of been enveloped in the warmth of Divine love is exquisite.

This is the great thing about our Christian faith. We not only celebrate the ascension of our Lord, we not only meditate on it, we know we will also experience our own transformation from the mundane to the transcendent. We base our Christian hope on this promise. If we could just be ever so conscious of the peace and joy that only meditating on this mystery brings, if we could constantly feel the ecstasies of living this heaven on earth, we will be living our life according to our special calling. We will be able to follow St. Paul's exhortation to the Ephesian: "Brothers and sisters, I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

Have a blissful holiday weekend!

Technorati Tags: Catholic, Gospel Reflection, Scripture Reflection

Confirmation Ceremony

Tonight we celebrated the confirmation ceremony at the cathedral for the Hispanic community of all parishes. Both teenagers and adults were confirmed and took classes together. I taught confirmation this year and was filled with emotion and gratitude. I felt like a father or godfather watching "my class" get confirmed. They looked so excited and their godparents and parents were so proud. I was particularly proud of the adults in the group that re-connected with their faith and dedicated the time necessary to continue receiving their sacraments. The Spirit is doing great work! Alleluia!

Technorati Tags: Catholic

Finding Happiness in Perseverance

There is such a deep and lasting happiness when we stay the course and achieve difficult tasks despite the obstacles. Whether it is overcoming an addiction, really going deep in the exercises of St. Ignatious, or caring for an elderly parent, we all need to know that we can overcome barriers in life in order to live with fulfillment. In fact, I may have read that a possible contributor to the epidemic of depression is that so much is given to us without any effort.

Angie and I and the kids spent the weekend in Cleveland. We had a wonderful time walking around the city, visiting the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and enjoying time together. Angie and I also competed in Cleveland's half marathon this weekend and finished better than we had hoped for. We had to "walk-through" some minor aches and pains, and do the half the race under torrential rain and temperature in the 50s (F). As we did the last few miles the sun came out, it became a beautiful morning, and we finished exhausted and fulfilled. As always, the most inspiring athletes for me are those in the wheelchairs. I even saw a lady running the marathon at full speed with a prosthetic leg. They could have been miserable at home given their condition. Perhaps some did for sometime. But they overcame their feelings of sadness and limitations to become great athletes inspiring us to move forward and showing us the meaning of perseverance.

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Giving the Gift of Experiences

My parents are retired in Ft. Myers Florida, they live in a small condo, and have modest, but adequate savings for their retirement years. They are very happy with their lives and are really getting engaged in community service. When it comes to Father's or Mother's day celebrations or birthdays, I'm trying to give them experiences and not just buy them more stuff. For example, a weekend in a small cottage in Sanibel Island or dinner-theater aboard a train.

Last week I was in Miami on business. The company hosted the event in a very nice hotel (The Biltmore). I invited my parents over to stay with us Friday and Saturday. They had never ben to Miami. It was so nice to see them enjoy exploring the unfamiliar, spending time by the pool just talking, and watching them surprised with the amenities of their room. At night Angie and I took them to a Cuban restaurant on South Beach. Again, they looked like kids watching in amazement the fast pace, fashions, and "characters" of South Beach. I love this stage of our lives were we can enjoy each other's company as friends that love and respect each other. I think I have reached the same desire. I don't want any more stuff, just to be able to experience this wonderful life.

Well, talking about experiences, Angie and I are off to Cleveland this weekend to do a half-marathon. Pray for stamina!

God bless!

Technorati Tags: Happiness

Off to Miami!

Hi friends! We are off to Miami on business until Saturday night. I won't have much time to log on, so have a wonderful week everyone! God bless you!

Masters in Pastoral Theology... All done!

Yesterday was my graduation at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College. It is the culmination of a 3 year journey in which moved by my faith, I was seeking greater understanding of God (rephrasing Anselm of Canterbury's definition of Theology). I felt the call from Jesus, the Good Shepherd, to join him in caring for souls, to join him in feeding the sheep, and be also a shepherd with Him (in Latin, a pastor). Although I was hearing Jesus calling me by name, I hesitated. It was so different from my professional career. My wife Angie helped me see how aligned this path was with my talents and passions, and helped me gain the confidence to take the first step.

In the past years I have learned about Theology, Scripture, Ethics, Cannon Law, Ministry, Christology, Liturgy, Church history, and spirituality. I have learned to appreciate the beauty and elegance of our faith, the mystery and and complexity of some of our beliefs, and I have been able to see God with a renewed sense of awe. The more I studied, the more I realized how little I could comprehend about God and His works. The studies helped me immensely, yet, only love, and service, and community and grace, have truly helped me to better know and experience our wonderful God.

If anyone reading this is wondering about pursuing a similar program, I highly recommend the graduate program at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College. The convenience of distant learning and the quality and competency of the faculty are great, but the best traits is how much Virginia the program Director and her faculty care about the students and their growth. They really invest themselves completely and at the end you finish with not only increased knowledge, but also with deep friendships. The sense of community among the students is one of the best gifts of this program. Mixed with the joy of not having to write more papers was the sadness of not been an active member of this wonderful community of shepherds. Well, there's e-mail and the annual Summer get-togethers...

And the journey continues. I love my career in Information Technology, helping companies increase their business value through technology and helping grow IT leaders. Yet, I love to compliment that with a vocation as a Pastoral Coach, helping people grow in their careers, in their personal development, and in their relationships by integrating Christian spirituality with the rest of their lives. With God's grace, I will continue to answer the call to act with justice, love tenderly, to serve one another, and to humbly walk with God (David Hass and Micah 6:8)

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